physical address requirement
The physical address requirement is the rule in email law, in both CAN-SPAM in the US and CASL in Canada, that every commercial email must include a real postal mailing address for whoever sent it. A current street address works, and so does a PO Box or a registered commercial mailbox; what doesn’t is a fake, forwarding, or random address that doesn’t actually reach the sender. The point is accountability: a sender who can be located in the real world is far less likely to be an anonymous spammer. For solo operators who’d rather not publish a home address, a PO Box or virtual office address is the normal, compliant answer, and it belongs in the email footer next to the unsubscribe link.
Also known as: sender address requirement, mailing address in email, CAN-SPAM address, postal address, sender address
Where this term comes up
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CAN-SPAM compliance: what the act actually requires of you
CAN-SPAM has seven requirements. The most violated one is the easiest to fix: a physical postal address in every commercial email. Here is the 10-minute audit.
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